Baby Reindeer: TV star says “everyone” knows Richard Gadd’s real abuser

British TV star and author Richard Osman has responded to discussions about Baby Reindeer, saying “everyone” knows who Richard Gadd’s real abuser is. 

The series became a global phenomenon when it arrived on Netflix last month, centering on Donny Dunn (Gadd), a struggling stand-up comedian who becomes the target of serial stalker Martha (Jessica Gunning). 

As well as being the creator and lead star, Gadd based Baby Reindeer on his real-life experiences. But despite intentionally changing the names of the characters, it didn’t stop fans from obsessively trying to find their real-life counterparts. 

Attention soon shifted from the “real Martha” to Gadd’s abuser, depicted as Darrien (Tom Goodman-Hill) in the Netflix show. 

When British director and comedian Sean Foley got caught in the crosshairs, Gadd personally took to social media to say this was not true, while asking for the speculation to stop. 

Although the furor has started to die down, Richard Osman – best known as the creator and former presenter of UK quiz show Pointless – has weighed in on the matter. 

On a recent episode of his The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, he told his co-host Marina Hyde that “everyone knows who he is talking about” and that Gadd had been “very open to people in the industry” about who sexually assaulted him. 

“There’s a very, very serious thing that happens, and Richard Gadd, as you say, did the show in Edinburgh and has been very open to people in the industry about who that person was, so people in the industry know who that person was,” Osman says.

“That person hasn’t been prosecuted, has never gone to trial, but everyone knows who he is talking about.”

Osman goes on to discuss a comedy producer who was wrongly accused, seemingly referencing Foley. “It comes out now, and a completely different person is identified, someone who has produced Richard Gadd before, but is definitively not the person in any way,” Osman adds.

“But the person they’ve cast in that role looks like this other guy — looks like the guy who’s been falsely accused. And it’s such a weird, bizarre thing to do because this poor guy’s now had death threats and he’s had to issue a statement to say it’s not me.”

Osman reiterates that it’s “not” Foley because “people in the industry know” who it really is. 

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